Szechuan Eggplant Recipe - Sichuan Eggplant Recipe - Step by Step

Eggplant cooked the Chinese way in a delicious szechuan sauce. Szechuan Eggplant is a very quick side dish for vegetable fried rice or noodles.

Making a side dish for Vegetable Fried Rice (or noodles) usually leaves me in a cloud of flour dust, crankiness due to the heat of the oil I need to deep fry stuff in (you know, for manchurians and such) and the humidity in Singapore doesn't help matters much. While I would definitely agree that a finished Gobi Manchurian or Chilli Paneer is a thing of beauty and deliciousness, it's not something I would make often simply because of the number of steps and the chances of messing up the kitchen and the final dish.

This Eggplant Schezwan Recipe is a boon on such days. It's so very easy to put together and tastes great and takes all of 20 mins to cook up. If you are not a fan of eggplant, may I take a few mins and try to convert you? No? Ok then, try Mushroom Schezwan or Tofu Schezwan or ooohh, a Paneer Schezwan. Pretty much any vegetable can be customized and made using the same basic recipe for Schezwan sauce that I have given below.

Hungy yet? Ok, on to the Sichuan Eggplant Recipe now!

SCHEZWAN EGGPLANT RECIPE

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 2-3
Recipe idea from: Food Network

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant cut into 1" wide wedges
• 5-6 shallots or pearl onions
• 1 tsp of minced garlic
• 1 tsp of red red chilli sauce (Sriracha, Maggi, anything works) or chilli flakes
• 2 tbsp of soya sauce
• 1 tsp of regular white vinegar
• 1 tsp of cornflour or corn starch
• 1/2 tsp of brown sugar (or jaggery)
• 1 small bunch of coriander leaves / cilantro
• 1/2 tsp of black pepper powder
• 2 tbsp of sesame oil (Indian gingelly oil) or peanut oil
• 1 cup water

How to Make Schezwan Eggplant:

• Heat oil in a wide pan and when it starts to smoke, add the eggplant in 2 batches, frying until sticky and brown. Add salt and pepper to this, drain and set aside
• In the same pan, add a few more drops of oil if required and fry the shallots until soft. To this, add the red chilli sauce (or flakes) and minced garlic. Saute for a few seconds
• Meanwhile, mix the soya sauce, vinegar, corn starch, sugar, and some salt to make the Schezwan Sauce
• Add this to the shallot mixture and cook on medium-high heat until it starts to bubble
• Tip in the fried eggplant and mix well until the sauce coats the eggplant
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with fried rice or noodles

Step by Step Pictures to Make Schezwan Eggplant

1. Heat oil and fry the eggplant in 2-3 batches

... until soft, browned, and sticky. Add salt and pepper, drain and set aside.

2. In same pan, add more oil if needed, and fry the shallots.

3. Add chilli sauce and minced garlic and saute some more.

4. Meanwhile, make the Schezwan Sauce by mixing the corn starch, soya sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, and some salt

5. Add water to the shallot mixture and top off with the Schezwan Sauce

6. When it boils and starts bubbling, add the eggplant

7. Mix well and cook through until sauce coats the eggplant fully.

Notes:

• You can deep-fry the eggplant until crisp and proceed with the recipe. If served immediately, this will give the dish a nice texture
• You can use spring onions (scallions, green onions) instead of the shallots for a different flavour
• Use the Asian eggplant for best results. They are long and purple. If not available where you live, use the regular fat eggplant or smaller purple brinjal
• You can add some minced ginger along with the garlic. For some reason, I felt like omitting ginger so I did